


Ready? Set. Leap!

by ragdollrory



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M, Mentioned Coran (Voltron), Mentioned Kolivan (Voltron), Mentioned Krolia (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-20
Updated: 2020-02-18
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:54:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22085959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ragdollrory/pseuds/ragdollrory
Summary: With the leap year on the horizon, Keith is getting everything ready for Shiro's birthday.
Relationships: Allura/Lotor (Voltron), Keith/Shiro (Voltron), Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Kudos: 13





	1. Ready? - New Year's Eve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The night of December 31st finds Paladins, family and friends together on Earth for a night of celebrations.

It’s been a hectic year, seemingly endless at times, and far too rushed at others; filled with work, tears and stress, and the knowledge of how much further they still have to go. Yet worth it. That’s the thought that follows Shiro throughout the evening, as he chats here and there with the people that decided to stay at the Garrison for the night. 

His family.

And he can see it in their faces too. The relief of a complicated year coming to an end, the joy of a job well done, and the hope for a new one in which to keep reaching for their dreams. To keep on living.

He’s currently standing in a corner of the room, leaning against the wall as if to make himself invisible; to watch as everything unfolds around him. Shiro’s chest warms with each smile, gale of laughter, and friendly spat that breaks out in the room, his own face a show of unveiled content at the wonderful people the universe saw fit to regale him with.

He watches as Pidge and Matt play what he knows to be an overly complicated chess-like game they picked up in one of their interstellar trips to the mall they get to visit every once in a while. Sam hovers around them playing close attention. If to the moves or the way the holo works, Shiro can’t tell, but one way or the other, completely enraptured.

His eyes search for Colleen next, finding her in an amicable conversation with Krolia and Coran. Shiro can’t imagine what the three of them might be talking about, if they have anything in common at all, but the image alone makes for what the last years of their lives were all about. Peace amongst them all, in spite of everything.

A gaggle of children runs past Shiro then- Hunk and Lance’s nieces and nephews- squealing happily over a two-headed monster that’s following them. A monster that looks very much like their uncles tied together and adorned with stuff out of the table decor, and go figure what else. Romelle is leading the children to safety. She’s the saviour princess, and plays the part very convincingly.

It’s inevitable that his gaze falls on Allura next, her eyes are big and shining with love watching the children, a hand resting on her still not showing belly. Lotor’s is quick to pry it away, coming to stand behind Allura and placing a kiss to her open palm. It’s a simple yet so intimate act, Shiro can’t help but to look away, feeling like he’s intruding. He couldn’t be happier for them and wonders when they’ll share the news, and how can it be the rest of the Paladins have been so oblivious to the signs. 

Next year will bring a bundle of joy to all their lives, and Shiro can’t wait to see.

A low, rumbling laughter pries Shiro’s attention away from the room, and towards the balcony to his right. He has to admit the sight of a tipsy Kolivan has been most amusing all night long, the man’s booming laughter is contagious to say the least, but that’s not what has Shiro’s attention right now. No. 

It’s Keith. 

The moonlight tracing his features against the night sky, as he laughs alongside the other Blade. It’s breathtaking, and Shiro’s face softens to an enamoured gesture he often gets teased for by their friends. It’s not like he ever argues back, there’s absolutely no way he’d ever deny just how in love he is with Keith. Not after everything they went through.

"Oh, it's time!" One of the kids calls, and Romelle jumps from where the twoheaded monster has her and her 'paladins' trapped.

Slowly, they all leave their activities for the moment to step out as well. Soon the balcony is an array of Humans, Galra and Alteans like Earth has never seen before, all of them ready for the midnight spectacle.

Keith slots in between Shiro's arms, his own wrapping around his middle, chin resting on Shiro's shoulder.

"Having a good time? You've been quiet." Keith keeps his words just for the two of them, before brushing their lips together in a soft gesture.

"Enjoying the quiet." Shiro returns just as timidly, as if saying the words any louder could break the spell somehow. Keith merely nods; he understands.

As the countdown starts, the voices grow more and more excited, the children chanting the numbers down to one. And then everything is joy. The sky lights up, the chorus of 'happy new year' around them is as colorful as the fireworks above, and Shiro's heart skips a beat.

He can't remember the time he was surrounded by so much love and happiness.

Keith's fingers find his face, pulling Shiro's attention to him, and Shiro barely manages a 'happy new' before his lips are claimed. And then everything is sparks flaring to life in his chest as well.

Shiro's hands press Keith to him, their kiss deepening just so, tongue seeking to pick up the dregs of Keith's last drink, and the taste of his very soul.

As they part, Keith's face blossoms into a smile. One of those that illuminates his face, tightens his eyes; one that speaks of love and mischief interwoven, and has Shiro's heart right there on his open hand for Keith to snatch.

Around them, the rest of the group are still in different stages of  _ new year kissing _ , toasts, claps and generalized joy, but Shiro can't find it in himself to move from where Keith's gaze has him trapped.

"Leap year." Keith's words are a whisper, slightly breathy after their kiss, pulling a hearty chuckle from Shiro. He really should know better than to be surprised at the way Keith's mind works. 

He laughs then, a happy sound that comes from deep within, and falls back into the embrace, lips pressed to Keith's cheek. Shiro has no idea what awaits him, but he can feel nothing but bubbly joy filling the space behind his ribs. 

Fifty-nine days to go.


	2. Set. - The preparations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the days leading up to his birthday, Shiro notices Keith acting strangely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to my ever lovely Beta, Ilia, because I was especially dumb during the whole editing of this.

It starts almost imperceptibly. Gazes that linger just a little too long, eyes darting about him in a silent assessment, and the weirdest string of questions he’s been asked in a while. And for a moment Shiro genuinely wonders what’s going on, maybe even worries himself with Keith’s slightly odd behaviour. That is until he catches Keith out of the corner of his eye, and then it all makes sense.

It’s a Friday night much like any other, the Paladins getting together at Keith’s for dinner, and maybe a round of Monsters and Mana later on. It’s quiet and homey in a way Shiro hasn’t experienced in years, to be surrounded by the people he loves like this.

Shiro remembers the first time they were all crammed together in the shack, after his crash back to Earth, the tension, the doubt, every fear coursing through his veins, and the emotions he could see in the eyes of the then cadets. He can’t be happier to be able to see the differences now.

He’s out the back putting the finishing touches to the new window they installed in what will eventually become the new living area when Pidge approaches, flopping onto a pile of wood that will soon turn into a wall. 

Her face is a poor attempt at casual, even in Pidge’s standards. Shiro greets her with a smile, and continues to work. He wants to get this done before Keith and Hunk serve the delicious smelling barbecue.

“So can you reach the roof’s ledge from here?” Pidge asks after a moment of silence.

Shiro halts for a second, looks up to the jutting gutter above before nodding. “I think so, yes.” And when it’s clear the girl wants evidence of it, Shiro reaches up to give it a tap. She just nods, Shiro goes back to his work.

“Red or blue?” Comes the next question.

“Red.” Shiro answers without stopping to think.

“Because of Keith’s Lion.” There’s a grin teasing Pidge’s lips, Shiro shakes his head in amusement.

“Could be.” He can’t deny the warmth in his chest whenever he thinks of Keith and his Lion. “But also because of Mars.”

“Hm, I’m gonna pretend to believe you.” Pidge shakes her head, and leans back onto her hands, eyes on the sky. Before Shiro gets to go back to his work, another question comes. “Did you know your wingspan equates your height?” 

“I heard something like that somewhere.” Another screw in place, Shiro moves onto the last corner of the window. “From your brother, probably.”

“Probably.” Her feet tap on the ground. “Cake or mac and cheese?”

“Mac and cheese. Wait, what type of cake?”

“Chocolate.”

“Oh, tough one.”

“And how tall are you exactly?”

“Six-foot-two”

“Hmm.” 

“Pidge, is there something you need?” The questions are as surreptitious as Kosmo hiding under the covers of their bed, and as wide-ranging as Shiro imagines the girl’s brain works, yet his own mind is working overdrive to figure out what the end goal is here.

“No, no.” Pidge stands up, shaking her head and brushing that fine layer of sand that clings to anything that stays out in the desert for too long. She pushes her glasses up on the bridge of her nose and gives Shiro a lingering look, head cocking to the side in an assessive manner. “Okay!” The clap of her hands pulls Shiro from his own thoughts, and then he’s being wrapped in a hug. “Good talk, Shiro, let’s do this again.”

“Sure.” He frowns to the top of Pidge’s head. Of all of the weird things that have happened in his life lately, this will certainly take the top. “Pidge, are you measuring my back?” Shiro pulls away, now he can’t help the frown of confusion in his face.

“Nope.” There’s a stress on the P, and a grin widening on Pidge’s lips, and then she’s walking back inside as if nothing were the matter.

Shiro’s gaze follows her, only to find Keith waiting at the door. He and Pidge exchange some words Shiro can’t hear, two sets of eyes lingering on him from the other end of the house, and then they walk in, Keith’s lips mouthing something to Shiro.

Fifty.

-

"Shiro." Keith’s voice has him looking up from his paperwork, an instant smile on his lips at the sight of those purple eyes peeking through the door frame. Shiro hums for him to continue, throat a little bit tight, heart a little bit too in love.

"Yeah, so..." Keith trails off, moving a little bit further in, eyes moving somewhere he can't see in the next room. There’s a whole conversation going on there, in the subtle twitch of his eyebrows, and Shiro can’t help but to try and decipher what’s going on in his boyfriend’s head. "How do you feel about lizards?"

"Lizards?"

"Yeah, like, a jungle safari or something?" Keith shrugs, as if nothing were the matter, and this was everyday’s topic of conversation. There's the tiniest twist of his lips, and Shiro can't pinpoint if Keith's joking or just being secretive. If he's sure of something, though, it’s of the mischief tightening the corners of Keith’s eyes.

"I don't mind them." Shiro's lips purse in a gentle affirmation. "So long I don't have to pet them."

"Oh. Well, okay then." The tease in Keith’s face is evident now, but it does nothing but spark a wider smile on Shiro, and he knows he probably looks like a fool in love. "So we'll cancel that, then." Keith shakes his head in a mock defeated gesture, and Shiro's heart takes a little leap of joy at the amount of work his boyfriend is putting into this. 

"Okay, so, um- go back to your work." Keith leaves with a wave around the room, and a minute later Shiro can hear him complaining to the rest. "I told you about the lizards. So, change of plans. None of that, we need a new idea, and we only have thirty nine days."

-

“There’s just so much to see and do! It’s like it never ends.” Romelle’s voice is filled with wonder, her eyes hopping from one stall to the next.

They are at a fair, the first completely human one they’ve managed to find since the end of the war and the meshing of aliens into their daily lives, and Shiro has to admit even when the ones they visited around the universe are fun, there’s a certain nostalgic feeling in this one.

That he gets to experience it with Romelle tugging at Shiro’s clothes in an act so reminiscent of children’s innocence only makes the visit sweeter.

“Humans are so varied too.” She comments as they walk arm in arm through the game lines. Shiro wonders where she picked up that habit from, if it was something they did in the colony, or if she learned it from watching Allura and Lotor. 

“You have so many cultures in just one planet, but then you have so much in common too. We don’t really have that. I mean- there are differences now, between the colonies, and the things Allura and Coran teach us from old Altea, but it’s just not the same.” She rambles on about the differences between them. He watches her talk with a soft smile, content to be able to show her this, and be able to spark such excitement over something so common for humans. 

Romelle brings them to a halt, pointing to a stand to their right. “Oh, is that cotton candy? Keith said I  _ have _ to try it.” And just like that Shiro is getting dragged to another line.

He buys her cotton candy. Pink because of Allura, and yellow because, well, Shiro thinks there might be something going on with a certain Paladin. He might try and inquire more later on. They also end up with a caramelized apple, a couple of corndogs, a bag of taffy candy, and the promise of going back for a waffle ice cream sandwich when they reunite with the rest of the Paladins.

“You know what this reminds me of?” Romelle asks after some time, they are seated on a bench under a very necessary shadow, now that the sun is at its highest. She’s finishing her corndog now, arm still laced with Shiro’s, and so he’s resorted to eating with his left hand. Shiro makes an inquiring sound, swallowing down that last bite, and wonders why they didn't buy something to drink. 

Romelle turns to him with a wistful smile. “Nameday in the colony.”

“Nameday, oh, like a birthday?” Shiro manages to recall quickly, Romelle nods in agreement. “Tell me more about it?”

“Of course.” She leans into Shiro’s side, head resting comfortably on his shoulder. Her fingers follow the path of the metal joints of his hand.

“Nameday was the day everyone in my colony waited for, really, kids and adults alike. We didn’t have much to spare, so we celebrated them in groups of everyone who’d been born during the same phoeb. It was big, even, just like this, with lots of food and games. There was dancing too, and sometimes we even got to wear new clothes made specifically for that day. We did it in the colony’s center, at the feet of Prince Lotor’s statue. When he came, oh, those were the best namedays, because he would bring new foods from outside, and tell us stories of his trips, and the planets he’d visited.” Romelle’s voice is soothing in her telling of it, a sharp contrast to her usually perky and loud self. 

“Coran then told me back in Altea, only the royals had their nameday celebrated with such a party, that the rest usually had a small gathering with family and close friends.” Her free hand picks on the remaining cotton candy absentmindedly. “I guess it makes sense in a way, but-” She shrugs; Shiro feels the movement against his chest, and sits up. “We never really knew if we’d be discovered, no matter how hard Lotor worked to protect us, so nameday was an important event. It meant we were still alive.”

“I can see that.” Shiro’s answer is as soft as Romelle’s, heartstrings touched by the tale.

“You’re a lucky one, Shiro. You’ll get the party of a king.” And just like that her eyes are alight with a mischief he’d caught glimpses of in the rest of the Paladins and his friends. But before Shiro can ask, she’s jumping from the seat, her hand finally leaving his arm. “Oh, the others are here!”

Romelle runs to meet with the approaching group, waving her purchases happily. Shiro watches them talk excitedly for a while before joining them, Keith instantly pressing himself to Shiro’s side.

“So, a king, huh?” He asks with a raise of his eyebrows. Keith’s answer is a shrug, and the worst poker face Shiro has seen in a while- and Keith has an amazing poker face- as he leans up to get a kiss.

“Thirty-two.” The number is just a breath, and Keith is pulling away, catching Romelle by the arm, and taking her to the first target shooting booth. Shiro manages to hear something about owing her a stuffed animal.

-

“I don’t know man, do you really think Shiro needs another hoverbike?” Lance’s voice picks Shiro’s attention from where he’s finishing his lunch in a corner of the Garrison’s mess hall. It’s followed by a clatter of their trays hitting a table behind him. 

“I mean, I don’t know if he  _ needs _ it, but Keith said he wanted to buy him one.” Hunk answers. “Don’t you have like ten of those dumb jackets?”

“Hey! Rude.” Shiro’s back straightens just a tad; he doesn’t want to give his spot away, but there really shouldn’t be a way for them not to realize Shiro is sitting right there.

“In any case, Keith said Shiro has been meaning to fix his, so he wasn’t sure buying a new one would be the best option.” Hunk sounds pensive, and if Shiro had to guess, is surely supporting his chin on a fist, gaze lost somewhere on the ceiling.

“Yeah, I can see that.” Lance speaks between bites. “What I don’t get- is why we have to help Mullet Head with the present- ouch, what was that for?”

“You know why.” Shiro can see the scene behind him unfold with such clarity. Hunk kicking Lance under the table, pointing at him with the spoon or fork, his gentle eyes tightening in a warning glare. “Because this is about Shiro, and not Keith.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” He can imagine Lance rubbing his shin, a frown on his face. “So… a present. Hey, what are you getting him?”

“Oh, you know that planet I’ve been to last month?” There’s an upbeat to Hunk’s tone, excitement Shiro knows will come with wide eyes, and a lot of hand gestures. “Well, I’ve found this artifact that I know Shiro will just love- see, the thing is…”

“Hey, guys.” Allura’s voice cuts through Hunk’s description, Shiro’s lips pressing into a scowl.

Shiro doesn’t realize he’s been holding his breath, fork held in the air, until he hears some very pointed coughs and grunts from the other table.

He puts another forkful of food into his mouth, and pretends as if he’s none the wiser, and soon enough, there’s rustling sound and a couple of chairs scraping against the floor, and then they’re gone.

He pulls his datapad and checks the calendar. Twenty-four days. Okay, he can do it, he can hold his curiosity back until then.

-

“I see the little one is having too much fun with this countdown.” Lotor comments with a teasing smirk from above his glass.

They’re at a bar, a Wednesday after work. Keith has been out with the Blade for the past week, and Allura is with Romelle and Krolia doing baby stuff.

“And you seem to be enjoying this as much as he is.” Shiro counters, his face a mix of knowing and annoyance at what’s clearly mocking on Lotor’s side too.

“Well, there’s only so much I can do to entertain myself on this tiny planet of yours. A Lord must do whatever a Lord can.” He tips the glass, downing the rest of the scotch with a face that usually comes before a complaint that human liquor just lacks strength.

Today though, he remains quiet. Shiro’s eyebrows raise in a silent inquiry, but Lotor waves a hand to quiet him.

“I’ll tell you what-” Lotor shifts on his seat, an elbow dragging on the tabletop, to face Shiro fully. “You get to ask one question about the kit’s plans, and I’ll answer with the absolute truth.”

Shiro opens his mouth to speak, maybe to say he doesn’t want to know- a lie- when Lotor cuts him off. “ _ Think wisely, Takashi. _ ”

“Okay.” He nods, gaze falling to the swirling contents of his glass, before tossing it down his throat, as if he’d find the question he needs to ask in the depths.

“Okay, how- no, wait.” Shiro cuts himself short, Lotor’s eyes shining with contained laughter, the corner of his lips twisting in what Shiro can only read as baiting. “Okay, yes. What is Keith’s exact plan for my birthday?”

Lotor’s lips stretch into a wicked grin, fangs visible amidst the row of impeccable white teeth, and Shiro only has but one second to feel a twinge of guilt over asking the Galra for disclosure on something Keith has planned for so long, before he’s answering.

“You’ll know in ten days.” Lotor pushes the chair away, tossing some paper bills on the table- probably more GAC than needed to cover for their bill- and then he’s walking to the door. “Come on, Takashi, my wife will be getting back any moment now, and I have every interest in being there when it happens.”

Well, he can only complain so much, Shiro thinks with a shake of his head. Lotor did answer with the truth.


End file.
